


Hiding Who You Are

by Three Guesses (Thr3eGuess3s)



Category: Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Cass is my favourite character so of course I'm going to torture her mercilessly, Cass loves them ladies, F/F, Happy Ending, I don't really know - Freeform, I'm not that much of a monster don't worry, Sad, Someone should really confiscate my computer, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 22:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15374817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thr3eGuess3s/pseuds/Three%20Guesses
Summary: Just a little look into Cass' life, and why she was threatened with being sent off to a convent for sneaking her friend out of the palace.OrI love this character too much so I'm going to put her through hell and heartbreak way too many times.OrFive times love didn't work out for Cass and the one time it did.





	Hiding Who You Are

**Author's Note:**

> Boo, I'm back but I'm not working on what I should be. Enjoy the suffering below :)

The first time it happened, Cass was 13. Maria was tall and beautiful and clever, her dark skin practically glowing in the sunlight and her eyes twinkling gorgeously whenever she looked at Cass.

 

She was full of life, and she breathed it into everything she touched. She made the boring castle duties seem like a game, splashing the other girls whilst they did laundry and sewing tiny smiley faces into the hems of fancy gowns. 

 

She’d grin at Cass through the sheets they would to hang to dry and sneak up behind her whilst she was practicing her weapons training. Cass nearly ran her through every time, but Maria would just giggle at the small, pale girl, dressed in armour that was too big for her and weilding a sword that was larger still.

 

It was all too easy to fall for her.

 

Whispered stories of times gone by and shared laughter from whenever one of the ladies of the court would trip on their overly-ostentatious gowns soon turned to murmured confessions and stolen kisses. A run around the palace gardens turned to a dance of lovers, and innocent sleepovers turned to so much more.

 

It was all too easy for them to be caught.

 

Cass was told she wasn’t to blame; no one had explicitly  _ told  _ her, after all, that such liaisons were illegal and immoral. And, besides, Maria was the elder of the pair and had  _ clearly _ been the one to trick poor, innocent Cassandra into straying from the right path.  _ Maria  _ knew what she was doing was wrong, and she’d dragged Cass down with her, possibly condemning them both to hell, but Cass, in the eyes of both her father and the King, was an innocent, a victim of the deviant seductress.

 

Cass didn’t speak up, say she wanted what she and Maria had shared just as much as the other girl, knew that it would only land them both in more trouble. She didn’t ask her father how, if loving another woman was so wrong, why it felt so right to her, didn’t say that  _ she  _ was the one who’d kissed Maria first, and that Maira had warned her what people would do to them if they were found out.

 

They’d both been young and rash, believing themselves immune to the law and to religion, so sure their romance would go undetected that of course it was discovered within the month. They’d kissed in corridors full of people when they were sure no-one was watching and danced under the moonlight on the day of hearts. 

 

It was a wonder they hadn’t been caught sooner.

 

Maria was fired from working in the palace, and soon her parents had left town, too ashamed to show their face in the city anymore. Cass never saw Maria again, and was told, very clearly, that her behavior was not to be repeated.

 

But since when did Cass conform to expectations?

 

~~~~~

 

The second time it happens, Cass is 14. Maria’s replacement is a wisp of a girl, just a year younger than Cass, with powder-blue eyes and white-blonde hair and,  _ gosh _ , Cass is  _ smitten  _ the moment she lays eyes on her. She’s tiny and fragile and oh so precious, the kind of girl you want to hold close to your chest and shield from the world. You could drown in her eyes and die happy.

 

Cass was instructed to teach her how to sew so that her stitches were invisible, and how to mix the soap for washing so it didn’t damage the garments. She was told to show her how to set the tables and dress the rooms and mop the floors and hang the sheets, and she did. 

 

The girl’s name was Esmeralda, and Cass thought that was an awfully large name for one who looked so much like they would buckle under the weight of it. Esmeralda confessed to Cass, once, that she hated how long it was, and Cass vowed to never use the full thing again. 

 

She’d never seen a girl smile so brightly.

 

Esme didn’t talk much, and, when she did, her voice was so soft and faint that you’d have to hold your breath to hear it, lest you blow it away. It suited her, the small girl who seemed to all the world to glide through the palace halls like a ghost. No one knew why she was so quiet, except Cassandra, and no one knew why she spoke so infrequently, except Cassandra. Because Esme spoke to Cass, spoke to Cass more than she’d ever spoken to anyone.

 

When Esme kissed her, Cass was terrified that she’d break, and she did, in a way, crumbling into tears seconds later, sobbing into Cass’ shoulder that she was sorry and that she was deviant and that she was going to hell, and Cass didn’t deserve to come down with her. They sat on the floor for hours, Cass whispering sweet nothings into the other girl’s hair, and fell asleep there together.

 

In the morning, Esme had been ashamed, had tried to leave, had apologised again and said she’d understand if Cass never wanted to see her again, once more teetering on the edge of tears, but Cass had pulled her close and kissed her hard and wiped the tears of joy form her cheeks with a smile. Esme fit against her chest as if she’d been  _ made _ to rest there, created just for Cass to hold and to protect, and that’s what she promised she’d do.

 

This time, they’d be careful. This time, Cass would make sure they weren’t found out. They’d keep their kisses to behind closed doors and their confessions to themselves, they’d dance with each other but end the fun in the arms of a boy, and they’d keep their little sleepovers to a minimum.

 

She’d never seen a future shine so brightly.

 

They were found by a young guard, lost and confused in the maze-like servent-quaters of the castle, who burst into Cass’ room early one morning, thinking it was his own. He’d found them both entwined in one another in Cass’ bed, head dresses and corsets laid neatly over the back of a chair, and had soon alerted the rest of the staff.

 

Esme was terrified and ashamed, Cass angry and hurt; the guard had been her friend, they’d trained together, sparred together. Though he was only new, and she hadn’t know him all that long, Cass had thought she could trust him. She’d been wrong.

 

The whole affair was all the palace staff would talk about, whispering in the corridors as Cass escorted Esme back to her room, trying to shield her from the prying eyes and harsh comments. They were told to make themselves presentable and then dragged before the King, the promise of terrible consequences hanging over their heads.

 

Esme’s parents were summoned, and a case was made for their daughter’s innocence, many citing that it must have been Cassandra who led her astray, but they didn't listen. Esme was told she would be sent to a convent, far away from Corona so she had no chance of sneaking out to visit the girl who’d loved her so tenderly for the past year, and then she watched as excuses were made for Cass, the light in her eyes dulling and fading.

 

The Queen, knowing Cass was a good worker and liking the girl’s fierce spirit, did her best to keep Cass from the same fate. It was suggested that spending so much time with the guards and their talk of women and the pleasures of the flesh, for so long and from such a young age, may have had an effect on the Captain’s daughter. Maye being surrounded by men and their ideas had confused the young girl, making her think that she, too, should one day fall in love with a woman.

 

Most agreed, and others were swayed by the argument, or at least convinced enough to give Cass another chance at living her life properly and, again, Cass just nodded along, barely listening to what was being said but agreeing to it none the less. All she wanted to do was get through all of this without being sent away, and the only thoughts running through her mind were those of how all of this was her fault, how she should have told Esme they shouldn’t do this, how they should have gone back to their own rooms that night.

 

She made the mistake of glancing up from the floor long enough to steal a glance at Esme across the throne room, where the proceedings were being conducted, and what she saw broke her heart; Esme looked more like a ghost than ever, pale as a sheet and shrinking into herself.

 

She’d never seen a girl look so hopeless.

 

Esme was indeed sent away, though Cass didn’t know to where, so looking for her was impossible. She did see her once more though, a long time later, when Rapunzel had returned to the kingdom and all was right with the world. Their eyes met across the marketplace, and Cass knew they’d recognised each other immediately, but Esme was different; she had a husband on her arm and a child on her hip and another in her belly, and the name Esmeralda dripped heavy from the man’s lips, extinguishing the spark that had been momentarily reignited within the girl.

 

Her body had been recovered from the river the next day, a smile on her face, they said. Her husband didn’t understand it, insisted it must have been a murder, but Cass knew it was nothing of the sort.

 

Esme was finally free.

 

~~~~~

 

The third time it happened, Cass was 17 and far too lonely. Valeria was the lady in waiting of a visiting baroness, and she caught Cass’ eye across the servant's table, smirking into her spoonful of soup and winking flirtily. She was Cass’ height and Cass’ build, but her skin was a beautiful bronze and her hair a flowing waterfall of caramel. Her eyes were sharp, and yet soft at the same time.

 

They weren’t careful, didn’t see the need to be; Cass was almost looking for trouble, so dull and lonely had the past two years been without Esme and with less time she was allowed to train for, and Valeria seemed to be powered by the thrill of the danger they were to each other. 

 

Cass knew it was probably a bad idea, but she didn’t care. She wanted this, and Valeria wanted it too. They flitted around each other like moths around flames until the palace quieted down for the evening, and then the real fun began.

 

It was only supposed to be the one night.

 

And it was, for a while, but then the baroness came back, Valeria at her side as before, and one night turned to two turned the three turned to seven. Cass knew that if they carried on with the same reckless abandon they had been, then they’d be caught, and soon. She was very surprised they hadn’t been, but Valeria seemed to act around Cass the same way she did everyone else, turning attention off their flirtations. After all, who’s to question a girl’s normal behaviour when it wasn’t really hurting anyone and was all in good fun?

 

Valeria was sure to let Cass know that she wasn’t sleeping around, though, not that Cass would have minded if she had been, at first. But the two spent every night of Valeria’s visits huddled together in Cass’ tiny bed, so Cass knew she was telling the truth.

 

And that’s how it started; the baroness continued to make frequent visits to the kingdom, so Valeria continued to make frequent visits to Cass’ bed. They exchanged addresses, and soon were sending letters back and forth between seeing each other, detailing their days and their lives and how much they missed one another. Valeria couldn’t write as well as Cass, her parents having signed her up for work as soon as possible and hardly bothering with schooling, but her letters were engaging nonetheless. Cass even toned her own writing down a bit so the other girl could better understand it, although Valeria had told her it was unnecessary the next time she came by.

 

It was only supposed to be a little fun.

 

Cass didn’t know how long they’d been seeing each other and sending letters before she wrote the words ‘I love you’, but the next time they were together was the sweetest in her life. Soon, they considered themselves to be properly courting, although it was definitely in secret; neither were stupid, and they weren’t quite so reckless anymore.

 

In a way, Cass almost wished they hadn’t gotten this far, that it had just stayed at the one night and could be forgotten about, in the past, and undiscovered. What they had now was all too precious to lose, and they were always at risk of discovery, but Valeria was funny and quick-witted, and she even convinced Cass to teach her some self-defence. She helped with Cass’ work around the palace so they could have more time to roam the grounds together, find secret places to just  _ be  _ with each other, enjoying the silence or one another’s stories.

 

She supposed keeping the letters had been a mistake, although she wasn’t the only one to make it; the next time the baroness came to visit, Valeria wasn’t with her, and she sought Cass out one day when the castle was quiet. She informed her that she knew about her relationship with Valeria, and that she was putting a stop to it immediately, but that she wouldn’t tell the King, or Cass’ father.

 

It wasn’t supposed to end this way.

 

Cass and Valeria sent one last letter to each other, as was permitted by the baroness, and that was the last they spoke. Cass wished she could write more, hoped one day she’d wake up to a letter from the other girl, but she never did. She often wondered what would have come of them if they hadn’t been found, but she knew in her heart that it was an inevitability. 

 

She supposed she should be thankful that it was the baroness who had been the one to find them out, the baroness with a look in her eyes that maybe hinted at knowing exactly where they were coming from, the baroness who was, Cass remembered, was notably lacking a husband. If her father had found the letters, or worse, found the two of them together, she’d be off on her way to a convent.

 

Cass still saw Valeria sometimes, when the baroness would stop by for the day, now rather old and in need of her lady in waiting to help her do most things, and, sometimes, their eyes would meet and they’d share a smile, but they never moved to rekindle what they had. Cass knew it would be too painful to end it second time, and knew that they  _ would  _ have to end it, should they give in to their desires. They loved each other too much to risk it, and Cass didn’t want to see another girl she cared about shipped off out of the country.

 

It hurt, but it hurt less than losing her again.

 

~~~~~

 

The fourth time it happens, Cass is 19. The shop girl, is very daring, she thinks, with her dark eyes and cocky smirk, but Cass  _ likes  _ it, and likes  _ her _ . Her fingers dance as they carefully wrap the items Cass had come to purchase and her teeth gleam in the light when she smiles her crooked smile, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

 

Apparently, word of Cass’ exploits have bled from the palace into the town, and this girl is very much liking the sound of them. Her name is Isobel, and it suits her, rolling off her tongue beautifully when she introduces herself and being punctuated by a smirk. Cass takes the look on her face as a challenge, and soon they’re sneaking out to meet with each other on the kingdom wall.

 

Cass steals herself down to the stable and then rides through the city, picking up her Isobel and heading for freedom. They bring cheese and bread with them, and wine when Cass can salvage a bottle that is to be thrown out, and they picnic in the forests or by the creek or on the tops of the wall itself. They’re seen only by the moon and the stars and each other and it’s perfect.

 

They’re free, and they think they might be for good, one day.

 

As it turns out, it’s much easier to hide a relationship when the person you’re seeing doesn’t live just down the hall from you. If Cass is caught sneaking out or coming back late, she says she was meeting a boy, and the others are eager to believe it. When she’s questioned why she doesn’t bring him back to the castle to meet everyone, it’s because ‘we’re not that serious yet’ or ‘I don’t think my dad would like him’ or ‘I don’t want to scare him off’, and they all accept this.

 

They don’t meet every night, and sometimes only meet once a week, both of them having busy, demanding jobs that are difficult to get away from, but they try. They meet on festival days and spend time together as friends, visiting the stalls and wishing they could afford all the silly little trinkets that everyone’s selling and pretending to take the fortune tellers seriously. Whenever Isobel’s shop needs to deliver something to the palace, Isobel ensures she’s the one to do it, and whenever any of the staff need anything from Isobel's shop during the day, Cass is always the one to volunteer to go fetch it.

 

Of course, they have their excuses at the ready; Isobel’s father is old and slow, and her brothers are needed in the shop so of  _ course _ she should be the one to do delivery runs, and everyone was always saying how Cass needed to get out of the castle more anyway. When they were found together, wandering around town, arms interlinked, people wanted to believe that Cass had just finally gotten herself a female friend, and so they did. They’d managed to find the perfect balance of hidden and open; too secretive and someone would suspect something, too open and the world would know.

 

It’s wonderful, and they think it might be forever.

 

It isn’t, of course; Cass is entrusted with the training of a new girl on the castle staff, and the child adores her. She follows Cass everywhere, including, apparently, when she sneaks out one night to meet with Isobel. And, because she’s a child, she blabs, and Cass can’t really blame her because she doesn’t know any better.

 

Word makes it’s way to her father and to the King and soon Cass finds herself in the throne room for a third time, with the girl she’d been seeing at her side. The child was told to tell the King everything she’d seen, in front of the Captain of the guard and Isobel’s parents, and she did. She said how she followed Cass out and how she took one of the smaller horses and how she’d found the two sitting on the wall and how she thinks she saw them kiss and Cass thinks it’ll be a miracle if she gets out of this without ending up in a convent.

 

But then the Queen comes to her rescue again and the child is led to admit that maybe she didn’t see them kiss after all and Cass and Isobel insist they’re just friends and that they wanted to get out for the night and just have some fun because they can’t see each other very much. The King doesn’t seem ready to believe this, but his wife talks him round and both girls are pardoned and told that he’s sorry he wasted their time.

 

Cassandra’s father, however, doesn’t believe a word of it. Next time, he tells her, for he knows there’ll be a next time, she’ll be off to a convent, and apparently the King is on his side. The Queen may have her back, and they can’t do anything to her without any evidence, but she knows now they’ll be looking for it.

 

Isobel thinks they can carry on as they were, sneaking out at night and seeing each other whenever possible and stealing kisses under the moonlight. She thinks they could run away, run away like they always joked about, like they were always half-planning to when they spoke about it. Isobel thinks they could make it with their savings combined, thinks they could catch the last ferry out, rent a small place over a shop somewhere and get themselves employment. She thinks Cass could pass as a man of she wanted to, or Isobel could try, and they could be officially a couple, or maybe they could keep on hiding and just live as two friends sharing a place to save on rent.

 

But Cass can’t, can’t even  _ think  _ about that anymore, because now she’s under closer watch than ever, now she so much as  _ looks  _ at another girl and her father is breathing down her neck and reminding her of the looming threat of the  _ convent _ . She can no longer sneak out at night, so close is the guard on her watch, and Isobel understands, but at the same time she doesn’t.

 

Because Cass, after all this time, is starting to believe it all; nothing good can come of what she is and what they do. Any happiness she managed to hold onto only stays within her grip for a short while, and then it is replaced by the sorrow of heartbreak and misery as one lover after another is hauled off away from her. She starts to believe that they really are in the wrong with their love, that if it were moral and right then it wouldn’t be illegal with such dire consequences.

 

They think they’re breaking, and they would be right.

 

Kissing Isobel no longer feels right, and the times they meet are filled with awkward silences. Cass can barely bring herself to look at the other girl without feeling guilty, worrying that they’ll be caught and that Isobel will suffer. 

 

Isobel tries to hold them together, tries to give Cass space and time and love, but nothing works. She tries to give Cass hope and a dream and a future, but the Captain’s daughter knows all too well the resources of her father and how they wouldn’t get far and how they’d both only end up imprisoned.

 

The break is gradual and painful, and neither of them officially say it’s over, but they both know it is. They drift apart, meetings becoming scarce and silent and painful, absences becoming longer and more common. Cass breaks a little inside every day, but she can’t bring herself to love Isobel anymore, can barely breathe with all the scrutiny she’s under.

 

The pain lasts for years, present every time Cass lays eyes on the shopgirl when she’s out buying things. They pass on the street and don’t talk, but they want to, and they see each other at festivals and long for the days when they would have been there together.

 

It’s the longest heartbreak Cass has ever suffered.

 

~~~~~

 

The fifth time it happens, Cass is 21, and it’s  _ Rapunzel  _ of all people. There’s not even anything between them, but Cass can’t stand to see the princess looking so sad and trapped and scared, so she sneaks her out. She knows how it would look of they were caught, knows her father would take it as evidence that she was corrupting the younger girl and that the King would agree with him, but she does it anyway.

 

She stresses how important it is no one can know to Rapunzel over and over, and the princess agrees not to tell anyone, but Cass knows her Raps and knows that Eugene will know soon enough. Still, she tries, she mentions the convent, but Rapunzel doesn’t seem to understand the full weight of the threat that has been made against Cassandra.

 

And Cass can’t bring herself to be mad, because maybe she’s started to fall for the literal ball of sunshine she’s been charged with looking after. Maybe she’s started to memorise the patterns of freckles across Rapunzel’s nose and maybe she’s starting to try her best to pull her away from her boyfriend. She knows she shouldn’t, and she tries to stop herself from doing it on many occasions, but it’s like she can’t help it.

 

But the secret is kept, and everything is alright.

 

Eugene knows, of course; that was an inevitability, but so long as he keeps his mouth shut and no one else finds out, then Cass is safe, Cass can relax, Cass can stop planning how she’s going to escape on her way to the convent. Eugene doesn’t know about the threat of the convent, though, and she hopes to keep it that way; she knows that he’s smart enough to work out why that’s hanging over her head, and she hates that he is, and she doesn’t want to take the chance of him turning her in, doesn’t want to take the chance of him having her pulled away from Rapunzel.

 

She’s more careful with the princess in the future, most of their escapades involving the ex-thief, too. They’re a group now, the three of them, and everyone knows this. Some in the castle are uneasy with Cass being Rapunzel’s lady in waiting, what with her known history with the fairer sex, but the Queen doesn’t seem worried, and so Cass stays in the job.

 

She falls for the princess from a distance, and keeps it that way; she doesn’t try anything with Rapunzel, and she tones down her ribbing of Eugene. She keeps her mouth shut whenever she wants to say something particularly loving, and keeps her thoughts pushed down until she is alone in her room.

 

The day of hearts is a small test for her, with Rapunzel leaving notes for her in her hair and giving her presents and organising a ladies lunch just to make her happy, but it’s a test she passes easily. She even somehow manages to come out of the day with positive rumours surrounding her, the palace staff muttering amongst themselves about how Cass had gotten herself a man at last, and the rumours allow Cass to finally  _ breathe  _ for a while. If they think she’s going straight then they won’t be watching her as closely.

 

But, of course, the secret can’t stay a secret forever.

 

Cass had no idea Rapunzel kept a diary, had no idea details of their very first escapade were documented in the very first pages. If she’d have known, she would never have allowed herself to relax, maybe would have insisted Rapunzel remove the pages and destroy them on the off chance someone discover them.

 

But she didn’t know, so now the  _ King  _ knows, so now Cass is being made to pack her things and move to a convent. She tells Rapunzel and Eugene because of  _ course  _ she does; they’re her friends, and they don’t deserve to have her just up and vanish on them, they deserve to know the truth.

 

Rapunzel is still oblivious to what the convent means, but Cassandra can tell from the look on Eugene’s face that he knows. She can see that he knows why she’s being sent there, see that he knows she’s deviant and different and at risk of corrupting his girlfriend, can see that he knows that this means she’s done this sort of thing before and paid the price for it. In a way, she hates that he knows, but there’s not much point in hiding it now; it’s going to be all the staff talk about for months.

 

But then they’re saving the princess from her tower and Eugene doesn’t seem to mind her continued existence and proximity to Rapunzel. Cass can’t think of anything she’s ever been more thankful for, but then her father tells her she’s no longer being sent away and she’s proven wrong. She unpacks in a daze, sure someone will soon be stopping round to tell her that they made and mistake and that she has to leave for the convent now, but no one comes, and soon all of Cass’ belongings are in their proper place once more.

 

And then the secret fully comes to light.

 

Eugene must have explained something to Rapunzel because suddenly Cass is being woken up at two in the morning and the princess is throwing herself into her arms and telling her that it’s okay and that she’s never going to let her be sent away and that she supports her no matter what.

 

And Cassis confused because it’s two in the morning and her mind is still half asleep, but then there’s talk of changing laws and speaking to the King and Cass is suddenly wide awake. She tries to hold Rapunzel back, tell her that she’ll only get herself in trouble if she tries what she’s thinking of, that she’ll only get  _ Cass  _ in trouble if she tries to get same-sex relationships legalised, but Rapunzel is on a mission and nothing is going to stop her.

 

She talks to the Queen, who agrees with her ideas, and they both corner the King one day and, between them,  _ somehow _ manage to convince him to change the laws. There’s talk amongst the staff of how the Queen had said that if same-sex relationships were to remain illegal then he would have to send  _ her  _ off to somewhere to be straightened out, she herself having engaged in these sorts of liaisons in her youth. For some reason, Cass has no problem believing this rumour.

 

And then it’s legal. All of a sudden, Cass’ existence is no longer against the law, and it’s so  _ so  _ freeing. Yes, it’s still against the church, but who cares about that? Cass has never been one for religion, and she’s not about to start now. Besides, even if she does end up in hell, she’ll claw her way out just to punch God.

 

For the first time ever, Cass doesn’t need to keep a secret.

 

~~~~~

 

The last time it happens, Cass is 22, and it’s Isobel again. Her crush on the princess faded as all things do, and she finds herself stumbling into Isobel’s shop months after the new law is passed and pouring her heart out. 

 

She says she’s sorry for how she acted before, but that she was just so  _ scared _ and Isobel understands, and admits that she was foolish for trying to act as if everything were normal when everything was different. Cass asks for a second chance, and Isobel gift wraps it for her, just like she used to do those items so long ago, and Cass can’t believe how much she missed this.

 

It’s odd, at first, being able to be so openly  _ with  _ Isobel, and Cass half-thinks she’s dreaming. They’re still cautious at first, as is in their nature, but time passes and it becomes  _ normal  _ and it’s the best Cass has ever felt. They still get dirty looks in the streets sometimes, but nothing is ever done to them, and it turns out that half of the Kingdom thought love being illegal was silly anyway. Rapunzel is ecstatic, dragging Cass and Isobel out for double dates with herself and Eugene, and Cass lets her, because she doesn’t have to hide anymore so why the hell not?

 

They’re together, and they think they might make it this time.

 

Months pass, then years, and Cass and Isobel are still together. The princess has finally married Eugene, and her handmaiden is living above a little shop with her girlfriend, and all's right with the world. Cass and Isobel can’t marry; the church stands firm against that, but they don’t really mind because they have each other and that’s all they need. There’s no chance of them having a child out of wedlock, so the have no reason, in their eyes, to marry.

 

Besides, Cass hates being at centre of people’s attention and Isobel would rather use the money to take off and see a little bit of the world. So that’s what they do; Cass takes a break for a year and Isobel gets permission from her father, and then they’re off to distant lands and gorgeous beaches. Wherever they go, people stare and wonder, but they just laugh and kiss and are never in one place long enough to be caught or pulled up about it.

 

When they return, Rapunzel is with child, and it’s one of the most exciting times in any of their lives, even though Cass doesn’t really like babies all that well and seeing Rapunzel with child is mildly disturbing to her. They name the children together, all four of them, plus Max and Pascal, of course, and the names Summer and Sol are decided upon because of the warmth and light they bring to the couple’s lives.

 

The princess and her husband go on to have many more children, some biological and many adopted, and Cass and Isobel help from the sidelines, neither of them interested in having a child of their own. Rapunzel and Eugene and Max and Pascal and the children are all the family they need, and it’s perfect. 

 

Some of the children have questions about them, about why Auntie Cass and Auntie Isobel don’t have husbands like Mummy had Daddy, but they’re part of a new generation in Corona, and they’re accepting of the explanations and soon they’re pestering for it to be legal for same-sex couples to marry. Rapunzel, of course is all for this, but her father is still on the throne, and so she still has work to do.

 

They’re loved and accepted, and they know this time it’ll last.

 

It takes a while, but soon marriage is allowed, and the church has never had to perform so many marriages in one week before. Isobel and Cass discuss the idea and, with a little pushing from Rapunzel, agree that marriage  _ does  _ sound quite nice.

 

But they don’t go through with it. It’s planned and booked and everything is arranged, but they talk the night before and each is only going through with it because they thought it was what the other wanted, so they both decline to show up. Rapunzel appears on their doorstep an hour after the ceremony was supposed to start only to find them both still in bed, happy as they are.

 

They hear later that the time they were supposed to be married in is used for a party instead, and they don’t mind one bit. Rapunzel even saves them some cake, and it’s delicious and amazing and so so thoughtful of her.

 

They’re happy, and it’s certain they will be forever.

 

They’re together for decades, growing old at each others’ sides and sharing as many moments as they can. They last until they are old and grey and having to be looked after by their family, and they’re still so in love.

 

They’re buried together, and they really did love each other.

**Author's Note:**

> I really shouldn't be allowed to write for my favourite characters. Hope you all liked it, and I'm probably going to write more for this fandom in the future so see you then I guess?
> 
> Love, Three.


End file.
